Task #13: An Oprah Book Club selection

[Rayne]

Bonnie wrote: "Just starting An American Marriage and so far so good!"

I'm listening to this one as well and really enjoying it so far. Great narrators!

[Megan]

I just finished An American Marriage by Tayari Jones for this one; it was excellent!

[Candace]

I see that many of you have already mentioned An American Marriage. I just finished and I'd also like to HIGHLY recommend it. I almost didn't read it because of all the hype, but it was so good, I finished it in two days which is not my usual style.

[Octavia]

I read The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver for this - a little reluctantly at first, I admit, because it's quite long and the blurb didn't really grab me. But I've heard a lot of good things about it so thought I'd give it a go anyway... and against all odds gobbled it down in about two days. So glad I did, it was excellent.

[Megan]

I'll be reading An American Marriage- it's sitting on my bookshelf just waiting for me to start. And once I finish, I'll have finished the challenge!

[Amber]

Agree that An American Marriage was a great pick for this category.

[Megan]

I devoured it in one sitting- it was *so* good!!

[Maryam]

I finished The Reader for this task and I absolutely loved it.

[Darlene]

Teresa wrote: "I'm leaning towards Night or Stolen Lives: Twenty Years in a Desert Jail."

I'll be reading Night by Elie Wiesel as well.

[Caleb]

Really enjoyed Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat. Incredibly poignant story.

[Sheri]

I read Song of Solomon, it was just ok for me.

[Sherri]

I read Open House by Elizabeth Berg. I liked it.

[Monica]

I know Oprah's bookclub selections get maligned somewhat, but I've had great luck with them. Haven't had a bad one yet. For this task, I read An American Marriage. It will probably be one of my favorite reads this year. Last year I read Love in the Time of Cholera which strangely enough, I enjoyed far more than I thought I would though it was a very dense 300 pages and in fact took me months to get through.

For Audiobook reads The Poisonwood Bible has landed on my all time favorites list. Behold the Dreamers has an honorable mention. Both boast excellent performances. For me, Poisonwood Bible was an incredible book and incredible audio performance. Long, but so worth it!!

[Bonnie G.]

Agreed Monica. Certainly there are some I have not enjoyed, but many more l have. I also read and vey much liked An American Marriage for this prompt.

[Sherri]

Poisonwood Bible. Covers the Oprah Book prompt & the colonization postcolonization prompt.

[Elizabeth]

Is there anything on this list that isn't quite so HEAVY?

[Chantelasco]

Open House by Elizabeth Berg is much lighter than others. Here’s a list if no one has posted it yet: https://static.oprah.com/images/o2/20...

[Diane]

Tara Road by Maeve Binchy is a lighter read.

[Rainey]

Elizabeth wrote: "Is there anything on this list that isn't quite so HEAVY?"

She's Come Undone or An American Marriage

[Elizabeth]

Thanks for the recommendations, everyone!

[Simant]

The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row has been announced the recent Oprah club pick so I am going with this one.

[Brannan]

I read Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts for this one. I think it was one of Oprah’s earlier picks, and while it has some sad moments, I think it’s much lighter (and probably a lot cheesier) than most of the others. I really liked the movie when it came out (don’t judge me), and it turns out it was SUPER faithful to the book.

[Charlotte]

Brannan wrote: "I read Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts for this one. I think it was one of Oprah’s earlier picks, and while it has some sad moments, I think it’s much lighter (and probably a lot cheesier) than ..."I loved the book and the movie both.

[Rainey]

Charlotte wrote: "Brannan wrote: "I read Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts for this one. I think it was one of Oprah’s earlier picks, and while it has some sad moments, I think it’s much lighter (and probably a lot..."

I totally forgot that was an Oprah book club pick. Agree with @Charlotte - both the book and the movie were great.

[Doris]

I read The Measure of a Man: A Spiritual Autobiography by Sidney Poitier for this. (For double-dippers, I would think this would also work for task #12, celebrity memoir.)

I found it a little uneven. There are some exquisitely lyrical passages, especially when he's talking about his early life on Cat Island. But a great deal of the language is thoroughly pedestrian and his observations rather trite. But when it's good, it's very good indeed, and I admire his candor.

[Stephanie]

I did not finish The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter. I don't think it is bad but it has so many story lines, is not plot driven, and has a heaviness I didn't want right now.

I'm finding Tara Road to be enjoyable--light, engaging, and clever.

[Barbara]

I read The Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Ayana Mathis and thought it was a great book.

[Heather]

Stephanie wrote: "I did not finish The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter. I don't think it is bad but it has so many story lines, is not plot driven, and has a heaviness I didn't want right now.

I read it in January 2017. It warmed me up to hear about the sweaty South when the ground was frozen outside my window.

[Maurita]

I just Finished An American Marriage. Prior to reading this book I was sleeping on Oprah’s Booklist. Now, this book has me wanting to read everything on her list. I plan to purchase every book written by this author. I’ll read The Underground Railroad Next!

[Monica]

Octavia wrote: "I read The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver for this - a little reluctantly at first, I admit, because it's quite long and the blurb didn't really grab me. But I've heard a lot of..."

The Poisonwood Bible is one of my all time favorites!! Also loved An American Marriage!!

[Steph - Auburn Librarian]

I think Im going to choose Night by Eli Wiesel. Its an older choice but it's been on my gigantic TBR for ever.

[Janet]

I just read “Behold the Dreamers.” Quite good!

[Judith]

Steph wrote: "I think Im going to choose Night by Eli Wiesel. Its an older choice but it's been on my gigantic TBR for ever."
You won't regret reading Night but it will haunt you.

[Judith]

Maurita wrote: "I just Finished An American Marriage. Prior to reading this book I was sleeping on Oprah’s Booklist. Now, this book has me wanting to read everything on her list. I plan to purchase every book writ..."

The Underground Railroad is an excellent choice.

[Mya]

Monica wrote: "Octavia wrote: "I read The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver for this - a little reluctantly at first, I admit, because it's quite long and the blurb didn't really grab me. But I'v..."

If you want to double-dip across categories, The Poisonwood Bible also can count as postcolonial literature. (A little iffy as it is written from the perspective of characters from the colonizing countries, rather than those who were colonized.)

[SAF]

Mary wrote: "Catie wrote: "I’m finally going to get to The Underground Railroad for this task."

This is what I'm hoping to do...It's been in my TBR pile for some time, so I am glad to have an e..."

Brooklyn wrote: "I chose Love in the Time of Cholera for this task."

Loved this book. It was on my to read list as well and it is well worth it!

[Charlotte]

I hope you like it but I was very disappointed with it.

[Charlotte]

Barbara wrote: "I read The Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Ayana Mathis and thought it was a great book."
Yes, it was!

[Tracy]

I think I have every book from the first several years of Oprah's book club sitting on my shelf collecting dust. I chose a more recent pick, Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue

[Kate]

I chose One Hundred Years of Solitude for this task and it is not an easy read for me at all. I'm about 150 pages in and still can't decide if I like it or not. The first 50 pages or so were a total slog, but once I figured out that trying to keep strict track of the plot and the various war battles was hampering my enjoyment of the language, I started having an easier time with it.

Now I'm just trying to enjoy the weird journey anecdote by bizarre anecdote. The family tree on the inside front cover has been essential to help me keep all the characters straight. I'll be interested to see how I feel about it once I'm done, but I'm not thinking this will be an all-time favorite.

[Mya]

Kate wrote: "I chose One Hundred Years of Solitude for this task and it is not an easy read for me at all. I'm about 150 pages in and still can't decide if I like it or not. The first 50 pages or so..."

Good luck! Several years ago I read another of Gabriel García Márquez's works, Love in the Time of Cholera. I loved the occasional passage, & some of the language. Unfortunately I hated the overall book so much that I don't know if I will ever read anything by him again. Maybe in another few years?

Anyway, your approach of valuing the individual anecdotes seems like a useful one. :)

[Beth]

Tracy wrote: "I think I have every book from the first several years of Oprah's book club sitting on my shelf collecting dust. I chose a more recent pick, Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mb..."</i>

That one was actually pretty good! There was more character development and twists then I expected. I had done [book:The Underground Railroad for the challenge and it wasn't as good as I thought it would be considered all the hype it had.

[Kate]

Mya wrote: "Kate wrote: "I chose One Hundred Years of Solitude for this task and it is not an easy read for me at all. I'm about 150 pages in and still can't decide if I like it or not. The first 5..."

I actually finished this on Monday and it got better as I went along. The first half of it was a bit of a slog as it all seemed quite random and nothing connected to anything, but the closer I got to the end the more the book made sense to me, and the last chapter was possibly one of the best chapters of literature I've read in a long time. I want to read the book again now to see if I appreciate the earlier chapters better in hindsight.

[Wellington]

I read Open House by Elizabeth Berg for this challenge. I absolutely loved it!! I was dreading this challenge because it seemed like all of Oprah's picks were heavy books and I needed something lighter. This book fit the bill. The story is so relatable and easy to read.

[Sherri]

I read Open House too. I was surprised. I was also a little afraid.

[Stephanie]

Hi everyone, I found that Barnes and Noble online has thousands of fiction paperbacks on sale at 3 for $30. Paging through, I see a ton of Oprah books, BRICs, genre classics, Westerns, POC romance, and more--wanted to share for the end of year challenge remainders!

[Britany]

I Finished by Tayari Jones

My Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Brittany]

I was having trouble with this one because I hate having to pick books off of a list. I finally finished The Underground Railroad.